Linus the Lionhearted is an American animated television series featuring the character of the same name. Linus was created in 1959, by the Ed Graham advertising agency, originally as a series of ads for General Foods Post Cereals. At first, Linus was the spokesman for the short-lived Post Cereals "Heart of Oats" (a Cheerios imitation). Eventually, the lion was redesigned and reintroduced in 1963, to sell Crispy Critters, which featured Linus on the box. The ads were so popular that a television series was created in 1964 (with General Foods as the sponsor), and ran on the CBS network until 1966, then reruns (in color) aired on ABC from 1966, until it was canceled in 1969.
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